New Durham woman on trial for starving child accused 10 times previously

Tuesday

Feb 12, 2013 at 3:15 AMFeb 15, 2013 at 5:01 PM

By Samantha Allensallen@fosters.com

DOVER — A series of witnesses called to the stand on the fifth day of the trial of Christina Thomas, a New Durham woman indicted on first degree assault for allegedly starving a young boy for years, echoed what the prosecution stated in its opening argument — “a number of people let (the alleged victim) down in this case.”

Deputy Strafford County Attorney Alysia Cassotis interviewed several state workers from Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), all who said they had been alerted to problems at Thomas' Birch Hill Road residence in New Durham for years. Many callers alleged wrongful treatment of the victim and his biological mother, but the claims were always ruled as “unfounded,” DCYF staff testified.

On Monday, Cheriene Painter, a DCYF employee who serves as a child protective services worker, said in all, there were 10 reports of abuse of the child to the office, some anonymous, from March 2003 to October 2009. All of those calls were investigated, though some were “screened out” to other agencies, and the resolution was always the same — the claims were unsubstantiated and further action could not be taken.

Only in December 2009, when the wife of Christina Thomas's father-in-law, Marlene Thomas, reported the abuse, followed a week later by a call from the New Durham School, did the claims become “founded” in the eyes of the office.

Christina “Tina” Thomas, 34, of 214 Birch Hill Road, New Durham, is facing a jury trial out of Strafford County Superior Court in Dover for allegedly starving the child, now 9 years old, when she was said to be in the primary care position of the boy and his biological mother, who is now 34 and has developmental disabilities. The two women met in school years before.

Witnesses have testified for the prosecution Thomas took many people into her home over the years and lived consistently in a small one with her five children, her husband and another man identified as her boyfriend along with various roommates, the victim and his mother.

Thomas' mother, Peggy Starr, 53, also of New Durham, who lived with Thomas for a short time, is also charged in this case with second degree assault for placing the young boy in a freezing snow bank and river. Her trial is pending and Thomas has several charges for her alleged abuse of the victim's mother.

Foster's is not identifying the victims in this case to protect the juvenile.

Since the start of the trial early last week, evidence has come forward in the prosecution's line of questioning alleging the boy was kept in a dog kennel for hours, beaten with objects, punished by having his food taken away, chained to his bed and called racial slurs.

Painter said when social workers from her office arrived at the Birch Hill property in the previous years, they were not allowed to speak to others in the home without Christina Thomas being in the room. Thomas would also reportedly not let investigators speak with her five children.

Painter, along with a few other workers who testified, said they had to leave the case alone.

In the spring of 2010, when the victim was finally removed from the home and hospitalized, weighing just 23.6 pounds at the age of 7, Painter said she recalled the boy loving food and asking about it constantly. Cassotis has said doctors have been unable to find that the boy had allergies, as DCYF testified they were informed by Thomas. Social workers say the boy has been thriving, growing and putting on weight since he was adopted by a new family and removed from her home.

“Food was his world,” Painter said, adding when nurses brought him his first meal at Maine Medical Center, consisting of soup, chicken and rice, he requested peanut butter to slather on top of the dinner.

Witnesses testified last week the boy was largely only fed peanut butter sandwiches or a strange milkshake, if anything, in New Durham, and one witness said he was allegedly forced by Thomas to eat several of them in one sitting until he got sick as punishment.

Susan Curtis, a member of the New Hampshire Mentor agency, testified she assisted the victim's mother after the boy was removed from the Birch Hill home while she still resided with Thomas. Curtis and the mother worked together to find the best parenting tools to strengthen her skills with the boy, she explained, while he stayed with a foster family.

Curtis noted she was pregnant at the time and the victim was incredibly worried about how her baby would receive food, both prenatally and once he was born.

“He seemed very concerned about what the baby in my belly was eating,” Curtis said. “(He asked) … how we were going to make sure the baby had enough food?”

She added during that time, the boy struggled to understand his biological mother was his actual mother, and claimed he referred to Thomas as “mommy.”

Thomas sat in her chair throughout the approximately five-hour-long session Monday, wearing a light pink hooded sweat shirt and chewing gum while taking notes. She also requested a few recesses to speak privately with her attorney, Steven Keable.

In cross referencing, Keable asked Painter if her organization, DCYF, would be more apt to pursue a case had there been number of calls beforehand claiming abuse, even though nothing was ever found previously. Painter responded that “potentially” could be the case. When a worker with Women, Infants and Children (WIC) testified, Keable pointed out the woman did not include in her testimony the time when she told officials she observed the victim had put on three pounds. Sandra Tozier, of WIC, said she worked with the Thomas household for years to ensure food vouchers were available to them.

Painter noted that money appeared to be an issue for the Thomas household. She said she once called to follow-up on a doctor's appointment for the victim and Thomas reportedly told her they were having car trouble and could not afford to get it fixed to transport the boy to his appointments, and money for food was also a concern.

The trial adjourned just before 4 p.m., as jurors rushed home to beat the evening storm. Judge John M. Lewis told them to avoid researching the case. The trial will continue Tuesday morning and is expected to continue for the next two weeks.